Perks
by Zab Jade
Summary: Sometimes there are perks to being Inui's favorite kouhai.


**Perks**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Prince of Tennis or the associated characters.

**…**

Momo's stare shifted from the glass to Inui's gleefully malicious grin and back again, undecided on which was more terrifying. The glass was filled with something thick and the color of pure evil. A brownish green with large flecks of blackish green swirling within. He finally decided that the substance in the glass was more frightening, but just barely.

"What's wrong, Momoshiro?" Kaidoh asked with a smirk. "Scared?"

Momo glared at his rival and grabbed the glass. He wasn't sure why Inui had insisted he and Kaidoh play a match against each other, but they had played and Momo had lost. Now he had to drink the vile new juice Inui had concocted.

He took a deep breath and downed the viscid liquid in three gulps. At first, it didn't really taste all that bad. There was a crisp, clean flavor to it with only a hint of something disgusting underneath. The spicy aftertaste was his only warning before the juice hit his stomach like a nuclear explosion. Lightheadedness engulfed him, and he fell to the ground in a dead faint.

"Hmm…. Interesting."

Inui took notes while Kaidoh stared at Momo, lightly kicking him with the toe of his shoe to make sure he was still alive. The supine second year moaned and began to stir.

"Once he recovers a bit more, you'll get your reward for winning, Kaidoh," Inui stated calmly.

Kaidoh's eyes went wide with dread. "R-reward?" Inui's 'rewards' tended to be even worse than the punishments.

Inui held out a new cup, this one filled with a thick, purplish-red substance with dark blackish-blue flecks. Kaidoh paled and took a step back.

"What's wrong, Mamushi?" Momo asked weakly with a wicked chuckle as he slowly sat up. "Scared?"

He smirked as Kaidoh scowled and grabbed the cup. After just one swallow, the bandana-clad teenager froze. Momo waited for him to drop the juice and fall over, but it didn't happen. Instead, Kaidoh slowly lowered the cup, revealing a surprised smile.

Momo stared in shock, feeling somehow cheated. Kaidoh was taking small, slow sips of his juice with a thoughtful expression as he tried to figure out just what was in it.

"Some very good data," Inui murmured as he scribbled in a notebook. "Ultimate Evil Green Death Juice appears to be a good incentive against failure. The All Fruit Inui Juice, Special Favored Kouhai Edition also seems to have been a success."

"Ultimate Evil Green Death Juice?" Momo repeated, giving Inui a look that was equal parts anger, fear, and incredulity. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Special Favored Kou…. I would have had to drink Ultimate Evil Green Death Juice even if I'd won. And the mamushi still would have gotten the fruit juice even if he lost."

"Exactly."

"That's not fair! Not fair at all." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kaidoh. The blasted mamushi was smirking at him. He was also blushing slightly from embarrassment. As much as he liked it when something embarrassed his rival, it didn't make him feel any better.

Inui adjusted his glasses as sunlight glinted from the lenses. He flipped through the pages in his notebook and consulted a set of notes. "Just last week, you yourself claimed that Kaidoh was my favorite and teased him about it, among other things. You were quite right in some of your comments, Momoshiro. There _are_ perks to being my favorite."

Inui turned and walked away, looking quite pleased with himself. Momo just sat there on the ground, looking like a gape-mouthed fish on land.

**…**

Author's Note: Interestingly enough, I actually made both juices mentioned in this fic. No bugs or lizards were harmed during my experimentations.

Ingredients for Ultimate Evil Green Death Juice: carrot juice (nothing but liquefied carrots), beets, broccoli, green bell peppers (that's what gives it the crisp, clean taste that hides the evil at first), jalapenos, garlic, and spinach. One sip caused most of what Momo experienced. I didn't pass out, but I did get lightheaded. As I only took one sip, it's possible than an entire glass could cause fainting.

Ingredients for All Fruit Inui Juice, Special Favored Kouhai Edition: A bit of ice, a nectarine, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Good stuff. Really thick though.


End file.
